Freeform's The Bold Type is a series that focuses on the lives of three millennial women - Jane, Kat, and Sutton - as they work at Scarlet, a successful fashion magazine modeled after Cosmopolitan. The series evenly splits its time between the three girls' work lives and their personal lives, which means that plenty of characters are introduced via professional and personal relationships.
Sutton, Kat, and Jane each have their own discrete arcs in the series, but one of the features of The Bold Type that made it such a success was its depiction of unfaltering female friendship. While it may have been near impossible to predict where the series' main characters would end up based on their introductions, the final moments for each of these beloved main characters still offer enjoyable, and often surprising conclusions to their journeys.
Adena el Amin
"Uh, hello?" / "It's perfect."
When Adena is first introduced in the series, she is unwilling to take part in a meeting with Scarlet's Kat Edison, even appearing standoffish in her first few scenes as she quickly establishes herself as a strong personality. But soon, she and Kat quickly develop a bond - both professionally, and romantically.
Adena is seldom defined in any way outside of her relationship with Kat, and it's a rocky relationship at best. But in their last moments in the series finale, Kat finally agrees to a professional and romantic relationship on their own terms, and by their own rules, which Adena agrees is "perfect."
Ryan Decker
"Hey. You're the new Scarlet writer, right?" / "This was nice, seeing you."
In his first moments in the series, Ryan Decker, best known by the snarky nickname Pinstripe, strikes up a semi-confrontational flirtation with Jane, who is initially not at all impressed by his playboy reputation.
Soon enough, they begin a casual liaison, then go their separate ways, and eventually try again in a more serious romantic endeavor. Ryan is ill-suited for a significant commitment, however, and their relationship ends when he cheats on Jane and lies about it. But at the series' end, these two still find their way back to each other, and Ryan seems reflective, and even sad, as he watches Jane go.
Alex Crawford
"Jane, you're a writer now. Sit with us?" / "I'm only a few floors away."
As one of the girls' most loyal friends and coworkers, Alex Crawford played a key role in the series from the very beginning. From day one, he was Jane's best confidant outside of the trio, a fellow writer who welcomed her with open arms into the writers' club at Scarlet.
Eventually, Alex would play that support role for both Kat and Sutton, too. When Alex leaves Scarlet for competitor Pinstripe magazine, it's one of the most emotional moments in the series' otherwise uneven final season. But as Alex reminds the girls, he's "only a few floors away," and will always lend his support to them.
Jacqueline Carlyle
"Good morning, everyone. Well, I am so happy to see all your bright, shining, young, ethnically, sexually, and gender-diverse faces this morning so we can hammer out the issues that really matter to today's women." / "I just have one quick stop I need to make at Scarlet."
Brilliant, beautiful, and bold, Jacqueline is one of the series' best characters. She makes a strong first impression on viewers in her first scene at a board meeting, where she makes a wry observation about upper management's lack of demographic representation in comparison to the diverse body of women Scarlet represents to the public.
Never once does Jacqueline lose that boldness throughout the series. She encounters many scandals in her time at the head of the magazine, but it's always apparent that Scarlet functions best when she is the one in charge. It's hard to imagine how Scarlet functions without her, which is why it makes sense for the series to end with her retirement, and her final reflective stroll through the offices.
Oliver Grayson
"Mom jeans with fur slippers bad." / "I'm so proud of you."
One of the most likable characters of The Bold Type is Stephen Conrad Moore's Oliver Grayson. Fearless in his fashion and in living as a proudly out gay Black man, Oliver is an incredible boss, a supportive friend, and a truly reliable source of wisdom - even when in his first moments in the series, he compares a PR mistake to "mom jeans with fur slippers."
As the series progresses, Oliver is given more time to shine, revealing his personal life with his former partner Jasper and their daughter Carly. For the entire duration of the series, both his mentorship with Sutton, and his friendship and business relationship with Jacqueline remain two of the show's strongest relationships, which makes his final moment telling Jacqueline how proud of her he is all the more satisfying.
Richard Hunter
"I'd like to flag a concern about the word punani." / "Is that a yes?"
More than any other love interest in the series, Richard is more fully assimilated into the main cast, with numerous career plots taking place alongside his relationship with Sutton. In the pilot, he is used for cheeky commentary flagging potential discomfort that the legal team might have with the new issue.
Over time, Richard and Sutton go through their ups and downs, and unfortunately, the series was only given a shortened final season to clean up the out-of-character mess they had made in their already-shortened fourth season. But in their final shared moments, Richard and Sutton are able to repair their relationship once and for all.
Sutton Brady-Hunter
"What are you doing?" / "We're gonna be better than okay."
In The Bold Type's pilot episode, all three main girls are wide-eyed and excited as they head into a workday at Scarlet, even though they have been working there for years. Sutton has spent years as an assistant, unhappy in her career, and watching her friends Jane and Kat flourish in their own.
Soon enough, Sutton works her way into the fashion field, and after four seasons, she becomes a stylist. Along the way, she gets married, separated from, and reunited with Richard. And all the while, her friendship with Kat and Jane remains unchanging, and the defining attribute of their characters.
Jane Sloan
"Nothing. I just want to remember this moment." / "Because we've got each other. Forever."
In the pilot, Jane is starting her first day as a writer for Scarlet. Though she's arguably the least qualified of the series' three leads for this kind of promotion, Jane manages to work her way up as a lead writer, landing her own vertical, and eventually her own team of writers.
But in the series finale, everything changes for Jane again. No longer wanting to be tied down to Scarlet, Jane decides to turn down a promotion and leave the magazine entirely, traveling abroad while writing - and all while hoping to maintain long-distance friendships with Sutton and Kat.
Kat Edison
"Jane, you know you've been walking into this same building for four years, right?" / "Oh, yeah. Until we die."
Kat is established as the voice of reason in the trio of friends from the very beginning of the pilot, but also the most vocal, too. As Scarlet's social media manager, Kat is loud and outspoken on many social issues, challenging authority at every chance and even engaging in an ultimately unnecessary storyline where she runs for political office.
But by the series' end, Kat has progressed to the top of the executive level at Scarlet as she is named Jacqueline's replacement. Now emboldened with the platform she needs for her advocacy, Kat is exactly where she has always been meant to be - and no matter what lays ahead for the three of them, she is sure that she and her friends will be there for each other forever.